Apple should probably do a replacement program for effected 2016 MacBook Pros but it’s annoying that the article fails to mention that they actually fixed the problem with the 2017 version.
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Apple Faces Class Action Lawsuit Over 'Defective' Keyboards in Recent MacBook, MacBook Pro Models
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The keyboard on my Yoga X1 is pretty good; when I'm in the office I eat lunch at my desk and my keys are as tactile and when I use tablet mode they all smoothly tuck in like the day I bought it.
EDIT: derp
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Well it’s definitely much improved. I wasn’t aware of anyone having issues with the 2017 version but maybe there are still some issues.
Obvious? Nobody has provided any actual numbers yet. Not the people suing. Not Apple. Not other manufacturers. Everyone talking about this issue has no real data to base any conclusions on. It's all anecdotes and speculation. That's fine for posting opinions on the internet, but you need a lot more than that to be successful in court.
...and there are alternative choices if you want a Windows laptop that doesn't prioritise being thin over everything else. If you want to stick with Mac OS there's no real choice. Well, there the MacBook Air (you could do worse if you have modest CPU/GPU needs and don't mind a non-Retina display, but those are big 'if's) but Apple are expected to be "improving" that soon.
Doesn't surprise me that this has happened. When the 2016 models came out, I was in the market for a new laptop. Went to the store and tried them out. The keyboard was not pleasant to use and I posted that opinion only to receive lots of grief with folks saying you will get used to it, it's fine, etc. etc.
In my opinion, if a product does not impress upon initial exposure, it isn't likely to get much better. That has been 50+ years of experience and it hasn't failed me yet.
Combine that poor keyboard with the lack of ports and it's no surprise I opted for a 2015 rMBP. It has been fine now for over 2 years.
In my opinion, if a product does not impress upon initial exposure, it isn't likely to get much better. That has been 50+ years of experience and it hasn't failed me yet.
Combine that poor keyboard with the lack of ports and it's no surprise I opted for a 2015 rMBP. It has been fine now for over 2 years.
That's good advice with the credit card. So the answer to my question is "yes."
There's plenty of precedents for laptops working longer than a few months or even year; some are even Apple's. Apple care should not be necessary to expect a laptop to work more than one year, especially when you pay Apple prices and expect Apple quality. Sadly the latter has been slipping IMO precisely because of **** like this.
Good point !
I put all my Apple purchases on my Amex which gives me an extra year of warranty automatically.
I wonder if this is part of the reason for the delay in the next refresh. Maybe they're working on fixing the keyboard?
Got the TopCase of my 2016 replaced twice, last time with the 2017 model and everything was perfect for months. Recently problem returned, although much less prominently: it’s only very sporadically noticeable, but definitely still not always working as it should.
Me too.
Bought a 13in MacBook Pro last August. Within a month or so some keys fail erratically. Turns out they are keys that figure in my passwords - both the user account login and some major site passwords. So I have got used to retyping logins !
On some sensitive logins (Banks etc) I have begun to use an additional USB keyboard instead of the MBP keyboard. Banks etc will only allow a small number of login failures before a visit to the bank to reset the login codes is required. As my bank is now 1hr away, I try to avoid that !
When I took the MBP into the Apple store, they said that there was no fault ! It's a non-repeatable error, so doesn't respond to the normal troubleshooting procedures. I'm hoping that there will be a real failure and then I can get the kb replaced before warranty runs out. The store gave me a 3 year warranty, so 2 more years to go.
Bought a 13in MacBook Pro last August. Within a month or so some keys fail erratically. Turns out they are keys that figure in my passwords - both the user account login and some major site passwords. So I have got used to retyping logins !
On some sensitive logins (Banks etc) I have begun to use an additional USB keyboard instead of the MBP keyboard. Banks etc will only allow a small number of login failures before a visit to the bank to reset the login codes is required. As my bank is now 1hr away, I try to avoid that !
When I took the MBP into the Apple store, they said that there was no fault ! It's a non-repeatable error, so doesn't respond to the normal troubleshooting procedures. I'm hoping that there will be a real failure and then I can get the kb replaced before warranty runs out. The store gave me a 3 year warranty, so 2 more years to go.
After two years with the 2015 12" MacBook, I switched to a 2017 13" MacBook Pro, and while I did find the perceived travel less terrible, I still had the problem of intermittent stuck keys and spurious key repeats. I finally gave up and switched to a 15" 2015 MacBook Pro.
All Apple did with the 2017 models is add gaskets to the switches, making them feel a little less fragile. I still hated the ergonomics of the new keyboards, particularly the wider keycaps, which wreaked havoc with my muscle memory, even after 2.5 years. Once I switched back to the 2015 MacBook Pro, my typos vanished.
Everything described in this article matches my experience. I had repeated problems with the MBP2016 keyboard, and the first trip to apple store for service, where they replaced just the affected key caps, actually made it worse. After repeated trips to the Apple store and two top-case repairs (first one also made things worse, while the 2nd one didn't really change anything) and hours spent on the phone, Apple eventually decided to replace the whole laptop with the 2017 model, which thankfully seems to be good in every way - some keys do get a little mushy even on 2017 model due to the dust underneath, but it's extremely rare, and so far, the affected keys would always go back to normal if I push them once a bit stronger.
It's a shame for this keyboard, because I actually really like the way the keys feel. They are tactile in a way that a mechanical microswitch keyboard is, except with a way smaller key travel, but they really are prone to failure like no other keyboard mechanism I've ever seen before.
It's a shame for this keyboard, because I actually really like the way the keys feel. They are tactile in a way that a mechanical microswitch keyboard is, except with a way smaller key travel, but they really are prone to failure like no other keyboard mechanism I've ever seen before.
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The answer isn't just a straightforward "yes". I buy manufacturer warranties, not store warranties. Thats a huge difference. I don't buy geek squad, I buy AppleCare.
As technology progresses, more and more "moving" parts are in these devices that can go wrong. Not literally moving parts, but essential components. As things get more complicated, Murphy's law. One just needs to be prepared and cannot go around expecting that you are entitled to a remedy by the company if you are not even willing to do your part by extending your warranty.
If you aren't joking that's terribly sad. After the fourth I'd probably chuck the thing out a window.
Just a reminder to the Apple apologists. These new keyboards are riveted to the case with dozens of tiny rivets. It's the most insanely pointless thing I've ever seen. Even if you can find a third party to attempt a repair, the keyboard literally has to be RIPPED from the case and utterly destroyed in the process, and the remaining rivets painstakingly pulled one by one with a nipper tool. The replacement keyboard will cost you at least $100 plus all the time to disassemble and rip out the old keyboard and replace the rivets with tiny specialized screws to hold the new keyboard in. So you're looking at probably $300 to fix a defective modern MacBook keyboard. And they seem to be remarkably fragile.
This is for a common part that can be replaced with no hassle in less than 30 minutes for less than $40 in most non-Apple laptops. The fact that Apple as usual aren't standing behind their ridiculously overpriced laptops should anger all Apple fans. They deserve to be burned hardcore in court for the horrific quality of what they currently produce.
This kind of story is why I've been a Mac user for over 16 years but haven't thrown money at new Apple hardware since 2009. If you like Apple you shouldn't be happy about that.
This is for a common part that can be replaced with no hassle in less than 30 minutes for less than $40 in most non-Apple laptops. The fact that Apple as usual aren't standing behind their ridiculously overpriced laptops should anger all Apple fans. They deserve to be burned hardcore in court for the horrific quality of what they currently produce.
This kind of story is why I've been a Mac user for over 16 years but haven't thrown money at new Apple hardware since 2009. If you like Apple you shouldn't be happy about that.
I’m generally not a fan of lawsuits like this, but the latest gen of MBP is terrible. I replaced my 2012 machine with one when they were first released and the keyboard is borderline unusable. I put on a silicone cover which helps deaden the sound of the keys themselves which are painfully loud in a quiet environment. It will hopefully prevent dust and debris getting under the keys themselves, but the white, keyboard feels terrible to type on. Not sure how Apple engineers thought the feel or sound of the ‘improved’ butterfly design was in anyway an improvement.
But only Apple chose to develop a new keyboard mechanism that is extremely prone to failures.
Also, this is relevant for this topic.
One can only hope that this forces Apple to rethink and redesign their MBP keyboard. The one on my 2016 model is so incredibly bad that I have resorted to carrying a mechanical 60% keyboard with me at all times and just use that instead of the built-in one. Several of my colleagues have also complained about the lack of feel and poor durability of the keyboards.
I don't care too much about the durability but the new keyboard design feels so bad to type on it makes me want to get something other than a MBP for my next work machine.
I don't care too much about the durability but the new keyboard design feels so bad to type on it makes me want to get something other than a MBP for my next work machine.
I was one of the ones who loved Apple's new style keyboard when it first debuted on the MacBook 12". I found myself typing MUCH faster on it. I then got my MacBook Pro 15" highest end custom model the day it debuted in 2016. It worked great for a bit, but within 6 months the left COMMAND key became mushy like some describe. Only parts of the key trigger only sometimes. As a programmer I am constantly hitting COMMAND-S to save, COMMAND-A to copy all, etc. in documents I'm working on. There have been debugging issues almost every day because I have stray "S" and "A" characters in programming when the COMMAND key didn't trigger. Space bar is getting flaky many days lately. Apple has REFUSED to help. I've called, they ask me to do PRAM resets and things like that which have NOTHING to do with the keyboard.
Now going back to the first MacBook 12" I bought with this new keyboard. I haven't used that in a while, but my girlfriend has been. I went to use it the other day. Almost every single key on the keyboard requires a hard press. It use to take a gentle glide, now it is like banging at a toy, hard, to get any keys to press.
I usually buy the 3-year AppleCare on all my laptops and did with these two machines. Apple refuses to help!!!!
Now going back to the first MacBook 12" I bought with this new keyboard. I haven't used that in a while, but my girlfriend has been. I went to use it the other day. Almost every single key on the keyboard requires a hard press. It use to take a gentle glide, now it is like banging at a toy, hard, to get any keys to press.
I usually buy the 3-year AppleCare on all my laptops and did with these two machines. Apple refuses to help!!!!
We don’t really know how well Windows OEMs have done with similarly thin designs. If they launch a bad design, it’s not going to see Apple-levels of attention and outrage, and Windows OEMs can pull the plug on a single model pretty quickly. For example, my wife’s specific Lenovo model was panned hard in user reviews for WiFi issues. I managed to fix hers. I liked this model enough that I planned to buy a second one for myself, and in the few weeks I waited, it got pulled from the stores. Apple can’t do that with their limited product line.